As chief executive officer of the YWCA Paso del Norte Region, Sylvia Acosta is committed to standing up against injustice and misogyny.

But she didn't expect to have to do it for herself Sunday at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, where she was questioned by Customs and Border Protection agents about having a different last name from her 15-year-old daughter, Sybonae Acosta Castillo.

The two were returning to El Paso from a two-week trip to Europe when Acosta said customs agents stopped them because of their last names.

"I was asked if Sybonae was my daughter, and I said yes," Acosta said. "Then they asked why, if she was my daughter, I didn’t have the same last name. I told them I had already established my career and earned my doctorate with my last name Acosta so I had decided not to change it."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Houston said the agency reviewed the audio and video of the encounter and determined that customs agents said nothing inappropriate to Acosta or her daughter.

CBP "found that the video does not support the claim as it has been reported," Yolanda Choates, public affairs specialist for CBP, said in an email. "The audio and video prove that there weren’t any inappropriate questions discussed."

Acosta said the agents did not accept her explanation and instead lectured her on how she should have kept her husband's last name to avoid problems. They told her she should carry her divorce decree and birth certificate, although it was not a requirement.

Acosta said she was shocked at the response of the agent but never thought he would pull her and her daughter aside and into an interrogation room.

"I was incensed, and for a while, I was sitting there in silence like a scared puppy," she said. "But then something clicked and I thought, 'What I am doing? This is wrong.' And I got up.

"I think it's because I'm fortunate to work for an organization whose entire mission is to eliminate racism and empower women that it just kicked in to me to not allow it," she said.

Acosta said she dealt with about seven agents, who took their passports and were not asking her or her daughter questions but instead were lecturing her about the differing last names.

Sylvia Acosta, ceo of YWCA, with her daughter Sybonae in Rome.(Photo11: COURTESY OF SYLVIA ACOSTA)

Choates referenced an act by President George W. Bush signed in 2008 designed to protect victims of trafficking.

"In instances where the relationship of a minor and accompanying adult can’t be immediately determined, CBP may ask additional questions to determine relationship," she wrote. "This additional questioning could take place in an area away from the general public."

She also said that agency recommends a child who is not accompanied by both parents travel with a note from the child's other parent.

"CBP strives to ensure that travelers are processed fairly and efficiently, as we endeavor to make certain that all individuals attempting entry into the United States do so in a legal and secure manner” she wrote.

Acosta said she has traveled internationally before and always without incident. But here she was in a room facing agents and with her daughter, obviously scared and very quiet.

Acosta said the agents brought up the issue of human trafficking but she said they knew she and her daughter were related.

"I understand the problem of human trafficking and I appreciate they are looking out for that. But they know when they know. The fact that my last name was different should not be the sole reason why somebody is taken back to be questioned or lectured," she said. "It was ridiculous.

"I said, 'Why am I being penalized because I went to school and chose to keep my last name?' " she said. "This is such a misogynistic process — why must women have to have the husband's last name for it be OK to pass with your child? We've come a long way since the dark ages."

Acosta said they gave her back her documents and told her she should be thankful they were looking out for her daughter.

Acosta said she is fortunate to be able to be a woman of privilege with an education and a career that allows her to be outspoken. She is filing a complaint with the agency.

Acosta, who shared her experience on Facebook, was a little surprised it's going viral.

"I think it resonates with a lot of women who chose to keep their name," she said. "In our culture, Latinas keep their name, they don't lose their identity when they get married."

"We're in the 21st century. Women can have different names from their child," she added.

Sybonae, who will be a sophomore at Loretto Academy, said she is proud of her mother.

"He was super rude, the way he was talking to us when we had all our documents," she said of the customs agent. "It was just shocking when he said my mom should have kept my dad's name. Even with my stepdad, she has kept her name."

She added, "I was mad because it was unnecessary. We had every right to pass without any issues and I was tired and just wanted to get home."

"When I got to Dallas I was glad to be home and back in the states — but this was definitely not a warm welcome."

María Cortés González may be reached at 546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter.